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Summary of the impact

This study describes the public and cultural impact of research
undertaken by Prof Suzanne Schwarz upon ongoing processes of national
recovery in post-conflict Sierra Leone. It describes its impact on public
policy in relation to the preservation of national heritage and, in
particular, to the conservation and digitisation of
internationally-renowned archival collections documenting formation of the
world's first post-slave society. Schwarz played a pivotal role in the
training of archival staff in Sierra Leone and, through her work with Paul
E. Lovejoy (Distinguished Research Professor and Canada Research Chair in
African Diaspora History, York University, Toronto), achieved long-term
public access, in Sierra Leone, to rare and valuable evidence located in
Britain, America and Canada. Schwarz's and Lovejoy's international
conference in Freetown in 2012 was the first major gathering of historians
from around the world since the civil war. Streamed live on national
television and radio and attended by government officials and members of
the public, it placed the modern history of Sierra Leone in historical
perspective, and contributed to processes of truth and reconciliation at
the heart of furthering domestic and international understanding.

Submitting Institution

University of Worcester

Unit of Assessment

History

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Summary of the impact

University of Huddersfield research into new interdisciplinary methods
for systematic archaeological examination has led to significant advances
in the identification and subsequent conservation of historic
battlefields. The work has influenced policy and practice at English
Heritage, informing key changes in its National Heritage Protection Plan,
and has been used to help safeguard famous sites such as Bosworth and
Hastings. It has also shaped policy in other countries — including Belgium
— where it has been described as "the basis for the development of a
governmental vision" regarding battlefield sites — and has raised wider
public awareness of battlefield archaeology through high-profile media
engagement.

Submitting Institution

University of Huddersfield

Unit of Assessment

History

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Summary of the impact

This case study rests on research in the transatlantic slave trade and
abolition in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries undertaken
by Professor Suzanne Schwarz. The impacts are threefold. Firstly, the
research contributes to community memory and identity through impact on
public discourse in an area with significant and arguably "unresolved"
cultural legacy. Secondly, it has direct and indirect pedagogical impact
through sustained engagement in CPD, teacher and school-related activities
in partnership with National Museums Liverpool (NML), in the sensitive and
contested parts of History and Citizenship areas of National Curriculum
and finally, the pedagogical partnership with NML itself has reciprocal
impact in relation to the professional activities of museum staff.

Research Subject Area(s)

Summary of the impact

Elizabeth Graham's model of long-standing engagement and research at
specific Maya sites in
Belize has led to significant partnerships with local communities as well
as tourist and heritage
organisations. At Lamanai, where Graham has worked for over 15 years,
research enabled the
Belize tourism authorities to develop the site, benefiting 212,800
visitors during 2008-2013. This
partnership led to an invitation to work at the Marco Gonzalez site on
Ambergris Caye, where
research has facilitated the development of the site virtually from
scratch and created a new
recognition of Maya heritage on the caye.

Submitting Institution

University College London

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

History and Archaeology: Archaeology, Curatorial and Related Studies, Historical Studies

Summary of the impact

Stephen Driscoll's archaeological research has driven conservation and
regeneration campaigns in the Glasgow area of Govan, raising public
awareness of Govan's important cultural heritage resources and its status
as one of the earliest sites of Christian worship in Northern Britain. His
work has been instrumental in achieving Scheduled Ancient Monument status
for Govan Old Churchyard, has influenced urban regeneration efforts — in
particular the formal establishment of the Govan Conservation Area by
Glasgow City Council — and has helped to establish a sustainable future
for Govan Old Church as a museum housing significant early medieval
sculpture.

Submitting Institution

University of Glasgow

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Built Environment and Design: ArchitectureHistory and Archaeology: Archaeology, Curatorial and Related Studies

Summary of the impact

Research into maritime and experimental archaeology at Exeter has played
a major role in transforming how museums connect modern communities
with their seafaring heritage through experimental archaeology and the
innovative approach of `construction-as- performance' (full-scale
construction of a boat undertaken in front of the public using
experimental archaeology). A major project held at the National Maritime
Museum Cornwall (NMMC), supported by an AHRC KTF, has demonstrated the
value of experimental maritime archaeology in engaging the public with the
past. In addition to greatly increasing their visitor numbers, this
project received considerable regional, national and international media
coverage, and has given the NMMC the confidence to undertake subsequent
projects and so develop their own research capacity. The impact of the
Exeter/NMMC project is also reflected in how the `construction-as-performance'
concept
has been adopted elsewhere. Exeter's workstream in the EU-funded OpenArch
project, for example, introduced staff from open air museums in mainland
Europe to the Exeter/NMMC approach, and as a result Exeter staff were
invited to take part in a boat reconstruction in Finland. Such was the
success of these early projects, the British Museum, NMMC, and an open air
museum in Italy have commissioned further reconstructions using
`construction-as-performance'.

Submitting Institution

University of Exeter

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

History and Archaeology: Archaeology, Curatorial and Related Studies, Historical Studies

Summary of the impact

Between 2008 and 2012 the Çaltılar Archaeological Project (ÇAP
henceforth) produced
intellectual, social, and economic benefits to a variety of social groups
(including groups not
normally engaged in educational activities) through the following means:
i) conserving, presenting,
and developing awareness of cultural heritage as well as changing
knowledge of and attitudes
towards archaeological heritage in particular (2008-2012; ii) influencing
design and delivery of
education in museums and schools (through advisory roles, creation and
sharing of facilities,
provision of materials used in teaching) (2010-2012); iii) contributing to
the personal and
professional development of individuals (training Turkish and UK students
in archaeological and
transferable skills enhancing their academic careers and employability)
(2008-2012); iv) providing
temporary employment and economic benefits for local people (2008-2012);
v) developing stimuli
to tourism and contributing to the quality of the tourist experience
(2012).

Submitting Institution

University of Bristol

Unit of Assessment

Classics

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

History and Archaeology: Archaeology, Curatorial and Related Studies, Historical Studies

Summary of the impact

Research for the UNESCO trans-national World Heritage nomination of the
Silk Roads led to a
radical new policy framework for undertaking serial nominations (thematic
groups of sites across
state boundaries). The `Silk Roads Thematic Study' transformed the
attitudes of governments and
heritage agencies in the region and had a major impact on conservation,
management,
interpretation and heritage tourism. This study was supported by a
long-term site-specific project
undertaken at the ancient city of Merv in Turkmenistan. By developing
education strategies with
local teachers and transforming national approaches to heritage (through
conservation training,
management planning, and interpretation) the `Ancient Merv Project' is now
an exemplar of best
practice throughout the Silk Roads World Heritage Project.

Submitting Institution

University College London

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Built Environment and Design: ArchitectureHistory and Archaeology: Archaeology, Curatorial and Related Studies

Summary of the impact

Through a series of well-established knowledge exchange partnerships,
Leicester historians have enabled heritage organisations to identify a
research agenda to inform their strategy, create innovative tourist
information resources for historic sites in the UK, and manage the
transition of these resources from paper to digital media. The cumulative
impact of their contribution has been to extend the global reach of these
organisations, to improve the quality of visitor experiences of the
historic places they manage, to increase footfall and revenues at historic
sites, and to develop — and realise — new pathways for economic growth by
increasing demand for and strategic investment in heritage-based tourism.

Research Subject Area(s)

Summary of the impact

Two of the UOA's research outputs — the Slave Voyages website
(2008) and the Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade (2010) — not
only transformed knowledge and understanding of the movements of enslaved
Africans, but also generated a wealth of documentary, visual and
statistical material relating to this human trafficking business,
c.1500-1867. These research findings are disseminated through media as
diverse as searchable webpages, educational packs, artistic exhibitions,
TV features, newspaper reports and theatre performances. The far-reaching
impact of the research benefits schoolchildren, policy-makers,
theatre-goers, arts communities and the general public across the globe.